Sam Altman: superintelligence may come sooner than we think

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has predicted that superintelligence is closer than many think and, in his view, will usher in a new era for mankind.

Running the company responsible for ChatGPT Altman has a clearer idea of AI capabilities than most. That means not only should his warnings about the dangers of AI be acknowledged but also his predictions for where AI could take society.

He took to his blog on Monday (Sep, 23) to outline why he believes the world is on the cusp of a new “Intelligence Age” which will bring with it as many new inventions and transformative innovations as the move from the Stone Age to the Agricultural Age the Industrial Age did.

“We can have shared prosperity to a degree that seems unimaginable today,” the tech CEO wrote. “In the future, everyone’s lives can be better than anyone’s life is now. Prosperity alone doesn’t necessarily make people happy – there are plenty of miserable rich people – but it would meaningfully improve the lives of people around the world.”

This future will be achieved through the growth of AI and specifically the start of superintelligent AI, which Altman says could be achieved in “a few thousand days,” although it could be longer. However long it takes, he’s convinced it’s possible.

Altman drilled into some details of how he imagines that superintelligent AI will transform society. He describes a world where everyone has personalized AI teams for tutoring children, creating anything we can imagine, innovating better ideas for healthcare, and creating personal software systems. It’s interesting to note it’s not only companies that that he sees using advanced AI models day-to-day, but everyday people too.

There are still some gaps that need to be filled to make this reality possible, with Altman highlighting the need for more computing power and energy to make AI widely accessible. Considering that AI is already pushing the US grid to its limits, that would have sustainability ramifications – but Altman later asserts that “astounding triumphs” including solving the climate crisis, creating a space colony, and “the discovery of all of physics” will become “commonplace.”

“We need to act wisely but with conviction,” Altman wrote. “The dawn of the Intelligence Age is a momentous development with very complex and extremely high-stakes challenges. It will not be an entirely positive story, but the upside is so tremendous that we owe it to ourselves, and the future, to figure out how to navigate the risks in front of us.”

Featured image: Midjourney

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